Mainstreaming co-operation

After decades of flying beneath the radar, co-operation as a principle of business and socio-economic organisation is moving from the margins of economic, social and political thought into the mainstream. In both the developed and developing world, co-operative models are increasingly viewed as central to tackling a diverse array of issues, including global food security, climate change, sustainable economic development, public service provision and gender inequality. This collection, drawing together research from an interdisciplinary group of scholars and co-operative practitioners, considers the different spheres in which co-operatives are becoming more prominent. Drawing examples from different national and international contexts, the book offers major insights into how co-operation will come to occupy a more central role in social and economic life in the twenty-first century.

Mainstreaming co-operation will be of interest to students and academics studying economics, business studies, history, politics and international development, but also to policy makers interested in co-operatives and mutuals as a viable alternative to conventional models of social and economic development.

This collection considers the transformation that has taken place over the last thirty years in the global position of co-operative and mutual business models, from the prevailing view of the investor-led model in the 1980s to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and revival of the co-operative movement.

After decades of flying beneath the radar, co-operation as a principle of business and socio-economic organisation is moving from the margins of economic, social and political thought into the mainstream. In both the developed and developing world, co-operative models are increasingly viewed as central to tackling a diverse array of issues, including global food security, climate change, sustainable economic development, public service provision and gender inequality. This collection, drawing together research from an interdisciplinary group of scholars and co-operative practitioners, considers the different spheres in which co-operatives are becoming more prominent. Drawing examples from different national and international contexts, the book offers major insights into how co-operation will come to occupy a more central role in social and economic life in the twenty-first century.Mainstreaming co-operation will be of interest to students and academics studying economics, business studies, history, politics and international development, but also to policy makers interested in co-operatives and mutuals as a viable alternative to conventional models of social and economic development.

Introduction - Anthony Webster, Linda Shaw and Rachael Vorberg-Rugh1. Mainstreaming co-operatives after the global financial crisis - Claudia Sanchez Bajo and Bruno Roelants2. Our agencies: persuasion and the value of a concept to mainstreaming co-operation - Philip Grant3. G. J. Holyoake (1807-1906): a resource for a journey of hope? - Stephen Yeo4. History, citizenship and co-operative education, c. 1895-1930 - Keith Vernon5. 'The unit of the co-operative movement...is a woman': gender and the development of the co-operative business model in Britain - Rachael Vorberg-Rugh6. A continuing challenge: women and leadership in co-operatives - Barbara Rawlings and Linda Shaw7. The wasted years? The Co-operative Party during the 1930s - Angela Whitecross8. New models of ownership and governance - Cliff Mills and Ruth Yeoman9. Co-operatives in health care: global prospects for the development of co-operatives as instruments of consumer-centred health care - Vern Hughes10. Rising numbers of architectural co-operatives in an uncertain construction economy - Stephen McCusker11. Co-operatives and climate protection: housing co-operatives in Germany - Carolin Schröder and Heike Walk12. The co-operative identity: good for poverty reduction? - Rowshan Hannan13. What do we really know about workers' co-operatives? - Virginie Pérotin14.The impact of the co-operative ethos on the creation of shared value: a case study of Lincolnshire Co-operative Society - Phil Considine and Martin Hingley15. Learning to swim against the tide: crises and co-operative credibility - some international and historical examples - Anthony Webster, Linda Shaw, Rachael Vorberg-Rugh, John F. Wilson and Ian SnaithIndex